Pages

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Anchoring Grace

By MichaelSAVUSAVU, FIJI

The runway was between us and that bouncycontraption off the Plantation Resort on Malololailai Island. Katherine and mygirls owned this thing after a week, and spent countless hours in the resort'spools. This is a family resort, so therewere hundreds of playmates around.

Many
years ago, I heard John Otterbacher speak at the Annapolis Sailboat Show. John
is the author of Sailing Grace (a
riveting memoir about overcoming heart disease to go cruising) and one of the
things he said during his slide presentation stuck with me. John mentioned an interesting
aspect of his family’s cruising adventures: anchoring off resort properties. What
made dropping the hook at these places interesting was the stark contrast
between what he and the guests ashore paid per night to enjoy the same stunning
view of the sunset.

It’s
true. We are privileged to be able to live and travel the way we do and most
places (Florida being an exception)
haven’t come up with a reason or a means to charge us for being. We literally
couldn’t be living and traveling the way we are, where we are, if they did come
up with a way to make us pay.

But
our good fortune is even magnified. Not only are we free to be wherever we are,
but we’re almost always welcomed ashore to enjoy resort amenities alongside
paying guests. Ironically, this is even sometimes the case at resorts where
shore side access is restricted to guests. Yet, we row ashore in our dink, land
in the backyard, and we’re welcomed into the fold of clean-smelling, well-attired shore people. (“Girls,
remember to keep a low profile, we’re not paying guests and management was
really nice to let us use the pool all day.”) And while the girls swim, we get
to chatting with a guest who has barely recovered from arrival jetlag and
they’re on a plane headed back home. (“It’s a shame that honeymooning couple we
met last week can’t be here this week, now that the rain has stopped.”) These
encounters definitely help check perspective in a way that anchoring off a city
or in a deserted bay, do not.

Nowhere
have we confronted this juxtaposition more than in Fiji—a nation that must have
more resorts per capita than any other. And when the girls’ niece, Katherine,
flew in for a short stay before school started back home, we focused
our time at a few of them near Nadi.

--MR

We were treated like family at the Paradise resort on Taveuni Island.This employee gave us (and the Swiss family aboard Oniva) impromptulessons in basket weaving.

And in case said employee reads this, I want to assure him that

this photo was just for laughs, the baskets are actually in use,hanging from the grab rails in our cabin and keeping ourfruits and veggies fresh and accessible.

2 comments:

I don't know how it took us four months to realize that you don't actually have to stay at a marina to use their facilities. Just last week, we waited out Matthew anchored outside a marina that let us use their dinghy dock, laundry, wifi (broadcasting to the boat!), showers and courtesy car for $10. Magic!!

Absolutely, the resort we anchored off at Tahaa was 1300 Euros per night for a bungalow on stilts. We used their WiFi to find this out! Fun to see Tyrii and Aeneas in your pictures, they're in Vanuatu now.Ravi was born the day you left us the delicious chocolate bake. It was great as midnight feasts whilst in the hospital since dinner was at 4pm and breakfast 8.30! Yum. I'm sure it helped my milk get going!

Thank you for taking the time to comment; we look forward to reading your feedback. Don't forget that you may also contact us directly at delviento@hotmail.com (please type DEL VIENTO in the subject line)

Selling Your Writing

Voyaging With Kids

“If you’re thinking of cruising—full time or part time—you’ve got to read this book. Even if you don’t have kids aboard!” Carolyn Shearlock, author of The Boat Galley Cookbook

Follow by Email

In our twenties, we traded our boat for a house and our freedom for careers. In our thirties, we lived the American dream. In our forties, we woke and traded our house for a boat and our careers for freedom. And here we are.